If you have read Moonset on Desert Sands, you are aware of the relationship between Fergus and Fallon. What starts as Fergus’s nurturing acceptance of Fallon’s rise, becomes a jealousy as well as a psychological balancing act when the relationship begins to falter.

When I was writing Moonset, society was nowhere near the volatility of trans vs. non-trans that it is now. And if it was, there was a much larger grey area. Would I have thought of a different trope had I known the controversial path in which it headed? Maybe. But I didn’t, so I want to give you a little more insight into my creation of these two characters.

Fallon – What a Dynamo! Unending confidence and a physically beautiful human being. I picture her a mix of Kate Beckinsale, a younger Catherine Zeta-Jones, with a slight campiness of Megan Fox, but taller with masculine undertones … say Laverne Cox. Fallon’s charisma had drawn in more followers and, subsequently, more money to the coven. She knew her rising power and felt the draw to leave all past baggage of being an insatiable psychopath behind her. The new her felt optimistic and wanted to be a beacon of growth and togetherness for her community.

Fergus – A shallow, broken man with a criminality, both legal and metaphysical, who felt life had past him by. His goals had been blocked, and he was driven by an obsession of which he had no control … btw – this all comes clear in book three, Hummingbird Moonrise. A flicker of hope had risen within him to create such a persona as Fallon. Unfortunately, as the story goes, his old obsession reared its ugly head, he reverted to his old ways and, ultimately, ended up liverless!

My overarching message – Fergus created his path to happiness, and it contained the grandeur he had been driven to achieve without his niece’s sacrifice. Fallon had enabled him his desired success. He, then she, headed in a healthy direction. However, the old obsession toward Arista drew Fergus backward, thereby, costing him everything. A humanistic flaw that many succumb to, not just Fergus or people like him.

Why I share this insight – Not knowing the above, a reviewer once accused me of transphobia. After explaining my case, something happened that rarely does in the industry. The review was changed, omitting the accusation.

I hope this helps!